El Dorado
El Dorado is one of the first four pinball tables available in Zen Pinball when it first released for the PlayStation 3. It is based on the legend of El Dorado, the mythical South American lost city of gold. This table is the second-ever pinball adaptation of the legend in the world, with the first one being Gottlieb's table, El Dorado City of Gold. This table is not a remake of City of Gold. Table Overview The upper half of the table At the back wall of the table, there is a long, jagged habitrail with three spots where the ball can be trapped, then jumped over with the press of the flipper buttons as a buzz saw passes directly above. This habitrail leads down a "snake" habitrail that travels down to the left inlane. There are two orbits at the upper half of the table, a large orbit (Excavation on the left half, Monument on the right half) at the left side, and a much smaller Kayak Orbit at the opposite side. Within the large orbit, there is a Boulder ramp that leads down the snake habitrail to the left inlane and a Golden Idol toy sinkhole. To the right of the Monument Orbit are two targets that can be struck to discover Artifacts. At the apex of the smaller Kayak Orbit, there is a Lost in the Jungle sinkhole. Beside this orbit, to the right edge of the table, there is a ramp leading into a statue where an Artifact can be found. Directly above all this is a sloped, Gold Search mini-playfield that can be tilted to guide the ball as it rolls through it. The end of this playfield leads to a crossing habitrail that ends at the left inlane. The Excavation orbit has a flag that governs which available mission will be chosen when the ball is locked into the final head of the Golden Idol. Nearby, at the left wall, there is a mini-flipper. At the other side of the table, there is a reverse scoop shaped into the jaws of a jaguar, which returns the ball down the habitrail accessed when exiting the mini-playfield. To the left of this scoop are two targets, marked "Ball" and "Lock". To the right of this scoop is a series of three bumpers that make it difficult to shoot the Artifact toy. The lower half of the table There are two sinkholes at either side of the table, just below its halfway point, that represent tombs. There is also another unmarked sinkhole besides the left sinkhole that represents caves. To the right of the right tomb sinkhole, there is another miniloop that wraps around it and the frontmost bumper. The table has four return lanes that spell JADE, two rebounds adorned with statues of smaller idols and two flippers. Two kickbacks, one per outlane, are available for the player's convenience. The plunger The table's plunger is a diagonal, spring-loaded one. If used with a precise level of power, the plunger can bring the ball into a hole behind the mini-flipper, opened when it is held up, for a skill shot. Objective and Missions The goal of the table is to help a small team of explorers finally unearth the secrets of El Dorado, the lost city of gold, after many decades of remaining undiscovered to humanity, through eight missions that can be played in any order. To start a mission, the player must open and lock the ball briefly into each of the three heads of the Golden Idol toy. The current target mission to play is decided by spinning the mission flag at the Excavation Orbit. A mission, when successfully completed, cannot be played again until the Wizard Mode is completed. The following 8 missions must be completed to access the Wizard Mode: (Note: The missions are listed in clockwise order based on their lamp positions in the dead space of the table, but the Plane Crash mission is listed first because it is sensibly the first event of the plot behind the table.) *'Plane Crash': Upon arriving to the site of El Dorado by plane, the explorers somehow can't make a smooth landing and must act fast to avoid certain death. Assist in a safe landing by shooting the jaguar reverse scoop three times within a time limit. *'Log Bridge': The explorers must cross a deep chasm through a log bridge, but must avoid deadly obstacles. The player carries out the perilous crossing by locking the ball inside the Golden Idol three times, without hitting the drop targets placed throughout the playfield three times. *'Grave Robbers': A rival exploration team has stolen the bones of people who have lived and died in the lost city. Guide your team to catch up to and stop the thieves by shooting the Boulder Ramp a few times. *'Wall Climb': The team must scale a wall to continue further into the city. The player must assist in their ascent by hitting the bumpers many times within a time limit. *'Escape': The team must escape a dangerous, unstable part of the city. The player must hit all drop targets to complete the escape within a time limit. *'Labyrinth': The explorers must enter and leave a maze in one unique path to retrieve a treasure. The player must shoot the lit lanes to move the ball through the large orbit (representing the way inside), but must remember the sequence of entrances hit, as the player will then be asked to repeat the same sequence in reverse to help the team get out once they find their prize. *'Conquistador's Gold': The team obtains a cache of gold, but it's defended by the undead skeleton of a Conquistador who found the city but didn't live to share what he found. The player must defeat the skeleton by hitting it as it appears as a drop target. *'Snake Pit': The explorers find themselves in a pit full of venomous snakes, similar to Indiana Jones' predicament at the Well of Souls in Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark, and must fend them off with improvised combat. The player defeats the snakes by hitting pop-up targets before they creep back into the playfield. Once all 8 missions are completed, a two-minute Wizard Mode will immediately start, titled Gold Rush. This is a victory multiball where the player celebrates the team's successful discoveries of the city's secrets and relishes in the treasures they have found. This multiball continues as long as there are at least two balls in play. Side Modes During play, the following side modes can be activated: *'Poisoned': Sometimes, a member of the team may fall ill during exploration of a tomb due to exposure to poisonous substances in its rotting corpses or traps designed to deter those who dare disturb them. This may happen when shooting a tomb sinkhole. If it does, the player must hurry to cure the poison by searching nearby tombs, shooting the ball into either tomb sinkhole again quickly. There is a 50-50 chance that the tomb chosen will contain the antidote, and if it is found quickly, a great score of 5 million will be awarded. *'Mayan Challenge': The team's reflexes are occasionally tested by deadly traps left in place in the city to deter intruders even after its people are long gone. Such traps can be encountered if the player locks the ball twice into the golden idol (thus exposing its final head) and then shoots the ball into the Artifact Ramp at the right side of the table instead of locking the ball into the final head, the ball will be captured and placed into the jagged table-wide habitrail at the back. A buzzsaw will pass above the habitrail and the player must press either flipper button at the right time to jump the ball to the next part of the habitrail. Moving the ball across to the other side of the table will award 2 million points as the team survives the trap. *'Gold Search': The exploration team may occasionally have a chance to look for greater gold. If the player locks the ball twice into the golden idol (thus exposing its final head) and then shoots the ball into the Lost in the Jungle sinkhole at the Kayak mini-orbit, the explorers will travel to the area where gold is present as the ball is taken up to a mini-playfield. To help them find the treasure, the player must tilt the mini-playfield with the flippers such that the ball will pass through the lit circle targets on it as it rolls down. Several million points can be awarded for the fortuitous! Multiball There are two multiball modes that can also be activated. Once activated, the ball saver will temporarily turn on, and the multiball mode will continue until one ball is active. *'El Dorado Multiball': If the player hits both the Ball and Lock targets next to the Jaguar reverse scoop, the Golden Idol will temporarily expose its first head (hiding the other two if either were exposed) within a brief amount of time for a chance to start a quick multiball mode. If the ball is locked there, a two-ball multiball will start. The player can earn jackpots by shooting any of the three sinkholes, but can also add a third ball to the multiball by locking one ball into the Golden Idol toy again, causing the multiball to enter "frenzy mode", allowing Super Jackpots to be earned from shooting the same targets. Jackpots can be raised by shooting any ramp or orbit. *'Teamwork Multiball': Increase teamwork among the explorers with this quick multiball mode. It may happen as a random even that occurs when either tomb sinkhole is shot. During this multiball mode, the player must shoot a tomb sinkhole with one ball, then hit a certain target within the next five seconds with the other ball to earn a jackpot of 5 million points. Perks During play, the following perks can be earned: *'Jade Ball Saver': If the player spells JADE on the return rollovers, the ball saver will activate for at most 30 seconds, or until the ball is lost. *'Adventure Score Multiplier:' Shooting the jaguar reverse scoop four times will increase the multiplier, as well as the team's morale and thrill for adventure. *'Excavation': Many treasures are buried underground in the city, and excavation skills can be used to obtain them. The player can find various treasures for extra points by shooting the Monument Orbit four times, then shooting the opposite Excavation Orbit three times. *'Artifacts': Priceless artifacts of the lost city can be found for further study or great value. If the player hits the Artifact targets at the upper half of the table, they can then shoot the Artifact ramp to lock the ball inside the statue there to earn a random award, which include the ability to instantly expose the final head of the Golden Idol to start a main mode quickly, or increase the amount of time allotted for a Poisoned hurry up mode. *'Escape Kickbacks': The exploration team searches for safe passageways to escape in case of disaster. Kickbacks can be activated by hitting the bumpers many times, then shooting the Cave sinkhole within a brief amount of time to activate each one. Kickbacks are only good for the current ball and will propel the ball back into play with a low-powered spring-loaded mechanism. *'Extra Ball': Shooting the Monument Orbit eight times will unearth an Extra Ball that can be collected by shooting the opposite Excavation Orbit up to 3 times, depending on how many times that orbit was hit before the Extra Ball was awarded. Unclaimed Extra Balls will be forfeited if the ball is drained before they are collected. Tips *The Ball Saver is easy to earn and will be helpful most of the time, but beware, it will work against you in the Log Bridge mission, as it can launch the ball directly at a target you must avoid. *Aim your shots near the back left part of the table, as that is where missions begin and extra balls are earned. *Collect Artifacts for a chance to bypass the tedious process needed to start up a main mission with the Golden Idol itself. External links *Table walkthrough by ShoryukenToTheChin Category:Zen Originals tables